Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Has $18.86 Million Position in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) by 10.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 360,913 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,360 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $18,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

TECH opened at $71.00 on Monday. Bio-Techne Corp has a fifty-two week low of $43.19 and a fifty-two week high of $72.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.90, a PEG ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $52.95 and its 200 day moving average is $57.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 4.49 and a quick ratio of 3.18.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $311.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.11 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 9.05%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is presently 46.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on TECH shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $50.00 price objective on Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research downgraded Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Bio-Techne from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens set a $73.00 price target on Bio-Techne and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.07.

Trending Headlines about Bio-Techne

Here are the key news stories impacting Bio-Techne this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck KGaA’s all-cash buyout offer gives Bio-Techne shareholders a clear takeover price and a premium valuation anchor. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Agrees to Acquire Bio-Techne, Strengthening Leadership Position in Fast-Growing Life Sciences Markets
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst actions were mixed but included an upgrade from Evercore to strong-buy and a price-target increase from Baird to $73, reinforcing the view that the shares were moving toward deal value.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual call-option activity suggests traders are positioning for further merger-related volatility, but that activity does not change the takeover terms.
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder-law-firm investigations have begun over whether the Merck deal provides a fair price, which could add some headline risk and scrutiny around the transaction. SHAREHOLDER ALERT: The M&A Class Action Firm Announces An Investigation of Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH)

About Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) is a global life sciences company that develops, manufactures and sells high-quality reagents, instruments and services for the research, diagnostic and bioprocessing markets. Its core product offerings include recombinant proteins, antibodies, immunoassays, nucleic acid probes and kits, single-cell analysis solutions and automated protein analysis systems. Flagship brands such as R&D Systems, Novus Biologicals, ProteinSimple and Advanced Cell Diagnostics provide researchers and clinicians with reliable tools for cell biology, immunology, proteomics and genomics applications.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bio-Techne serves customers across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region through a combination of direct sales, distributors and strategic partnerships.